Thursday, July 30, 2015

This summer has been so hot and humid and I am ready for fall... but then again, I am always ready for fall! I decided to start making pumpkins earlier than last year, and evidently, some of you are ready for fall and have started placing pumpkin orders already! Thank you! :)

Over the last couple of years I have managed to collect several colors
of vintage velvet and think I have plenty for this fall's harvest. The
hues range from white to gold to faded peachy orange to bittersweet to
dark orange and then a dark russet. I really wish I could find a
gold/green color or a silvery gray... maybe I'll run across something at the 127 Sale this year.

I nearly panicked, thinking I wouldn't be able to find the fiberfil that I have used for years to stuff my pumpkins. Morning Glory is my go-to brand of fiberfil. On the 5-lb. box, it says it is manufactured by Carpenter Co. I remember a few years ago everyone was worried that it was no longer available and then it started appearing in stores again. Recently, I had trouble finding it, and today when my daughter brought two boxes home, I noticed the packaging design had changed. I'm writing to the company to see what's going on and if I will need to hoard bulk order so I don't run out for a long, long time.

I'll be sharing more photos of pumpkins as I get them made. For now, I only have one color available for single pumpkins in my Etsy shop.

Saturday, July 25, 2015

Once again, I will be making velvet pumpkins for my Honeysuckle Lane Etsy shop. A while back I bought more vintage velvet and I bleached some of the velvet this year to create a faded, variegated look.

I'm thinking about using some of the larger scraps for applique designs. They are too pretty to discard!

I plan on listing the first crop the first week of August. It seems it's never to early for fall decor! :)

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

You know how it goes... things break down when you least expect it.
However, we knew our dear old refrigerator was on its last legs, but we
kept hoping it would hang on until the kitchen remodel... yes, the
kitchen remodel that I have talked about forever. I have dreams
of replacing the 20+ year old appliances with sleek new stainless ones,
but that will have to wait. BUT the thing is, this refrigerator won't
wait and I keep mopping water up from the floor and from under the
vegetable bins every two days. Yes, even though it's old and dying, it
has a schedule, and water has to cleaned up several times a week.
Something inside is stopped up and water overflows from somewhere.
There's no ice maker so that's not the problem.

But there is a solution! I am going to buy a new, cheap
refrigerator that we can use and when we finally do get to remodel and
buy shiny new appliances, we can move this to the basement for extra
storage of cold drinks and water, etc. I found a few in the scratch 'n
dent department for just under $400 and hope to bring one of those home
soon. :)

In the past week, I spent a good amount of money on a new Presto pressure canner (and
have already been canning green beans and pickles)

and I also had to buy
a new laptop (after I spilled Sprite in it and fried the motherboard).

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

The sun comes up, the sun goes down, work away, work away...
Have you heard that song? It's on the YellaWood commercials. I tell everyone that should be my husband's theme song. Roger, who is a carpenter by trade, works so hard all day long and then comes home and works till dark here at home or helping neighbors when they need something. That's him in the photo above tilling the garden. He's pretty awesome! ♥

This past February we decided to have a garden again... last year just didn't seem right without one! So he got his old 1950s tractor to working and plowed a garden spot. Less than a week later it snowed and we had that damaging ice storm!

After all the ice and snow was gone, after some bouts with the flu and bacterial pneumonia, and after the ground finally dried up somewhat, the garden was planted and it started to look promising.

The rains came and it grew...

This year we let the cucumbers grow up instead of out which makes picking them so much easier!

We have been blessed with a rainy summer and our garden is still growing like crazy! I posted a few photos of the garden in its early stages here. At times, it was so wet and rainy that we couldn't get in the garden to till or weed, but lately we have been harvesting so many things!

and ONE blackberry (the rest are ripening now). Roger brought some small plants from his mom's this spring and they have really grown! My Mom had some at her home, too, and called them "tame blackberries" because they were thorn-less. I'm not sure if that's what others know them as, but that's what I always heard them called.

The tomato plants are as tall as I am and should have ripe tomatoes in a couple more weeks! That's roma tomato plants on the left, green beans on the right. (below)

I'll be picking green beans in another week or so and plan on using a pressure canner this year instead of the boiling water canner I've used in the past. I'm looking at this 16 quart Presto canner and also the All American canners. I've never used a pressure canner before... does anyone have any brand preferences?

I hope I've not bored you with so many garden photos and details... because I'm sure I'll be sharing more later! ;)

I just realized I don't think I ever shared the patio we (mainly Roger) built this year. Here's a sneak peek looking through the beans in the garden:

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

I've been carving even more designs for my note cards! I suppose since garden season is here and we've been doing a lot of outdoor chores, it only stands to reason that my recent designs have a nature theme... bee skeps, lavender, topiaries, and birds. You can see more of the process in my previous post.

My latest block print designs (seen above) were inspired by the work of Thomas Bewick (1753-1828), a wood engraver, artist, and naturalist.

I'm really excited about carving more subjects, most will be of a nature theme, but I do want to start incorporating every day household objects, as well. If you are interested in these hand-carved, hand block-printed note cards,they are available in sets of 6, and come packaged in clear gift boxes.Size: 4" x 5.5"Color: choose violet or turquoise (I'll be adding more color options at a later date)Price: $12 (plus shipping to your zip)

Adornments

Art - Originals and Prints

Blessings

I designed these book page wings in 2009 after hearing my daughter talk of angel wings for a Christmas play. You may read more by clicking on the photo.

Vintage Book Page Wreaths

I began designing these in 2008 and sold them in my Honeysuckle Lane Etsy shop. Paper designs sort of took over my creative life and I opened a second shop, Simple Joys Paperie. You may see more in the sold section of my Simple Joys Paperie Etsy shop. Just click on the photo.